History
The Quinault Indians inhabited Grays Harbor prior to 1775 when the first Spaniards arrived. A disagreement quickly arose and 7 Spaniards and 6 Indians were killed.
Relations improved by 1790, when Robert Gray, a Boston sea captain and trader, sailed into Grays Harbor after failing to negotiate the entrance two years earlier. Gray gained a solid reputation with the Quinault’s, who called him "a very good Boston man."
Thirty years later, the wife of a Russian trader became the first white female to arrive in Grays Harbor. She was soon captured by the Quinault and when her husband attempted to ransom her, she refused to return to him preferring the Indians' hospitality to his own.
The Lewis and Clark's 1805 expedition brought attention to the area, but mainly for the lucrative fur trade, which caused both the U.S. and British governments to lay claim to the area. In order to bolster its claim, the U.S. actively encouraged settlement of the region through the Donation Land Act of 1850. By giving 320 acres of land to single settlers and 640 acres to married ones, the first farmers arrived in Grays Harbor County.
In the 1880's, the first large lumber mill went on-line and by the 1920's, the area was rich in lumber, manufacturing, pulp & paper, fishing and people. It remained an important tall-ship building center into the 1940's because of the difficulty of getting engines to drive steam cargo ships.
Timber continued to drive the County's economy well into the 1980's and, although it has declined, timber remains an important economic resource today.
Communities
There are 9 incorporated cities and towns containing approximately 43,030 of the County's 72,000 residents.
Ocean Shores
On the north side of the entrance to Grays Harbor Bay from the Pacific Ocean is Ocean Shores. Ocean Shores has been voted Washington's top family vacation spot for several years, with over 4 million visitors each year.
Westport
On the Bay entrance's south side is Westport, which harbors much of the County's fishing fleet.
Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Cosmopolis
Twenty miles inland at the confluence of the Chehalis and Grays Harbor Bay, lie the contiguous cities of Aberdeen, Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. This triad of cities forms the commercial and industrial core of the county and almost half of Grays Harbor residents live in the triad. The three cities are 50 miles west of Olympia and I-5, 100 miles southwest of Seattle, and 140 miles northwest of Portland.
Montesano, Elma, McCleary
Ten miles farther east is Montesano, the county seat. Montesano, Elma, McCleary and a number of small farming communities, sit on excellent agricultural land and are near the 400-acre Satsop Development Park.
GH Index
Notable Harborites
George H. Hitchings, Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1988
Doug Osheroff, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1996